Return the whiteSpace property
alert(document.getElementById("myDiv").style.whiteSpace);
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <body> <div id="myDiv" style="white-space:nowrap;"> This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. </div>/* w ww .ja v a 2s. c o m*/ <br> <button type="button" onclick="myFunction()">Return the whiteSpace property</button> <p id="demo"></p> <script> function myFunction() { document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = document.getElementById("myDiv").style.whiteSpace; } </script> </body> </html>